To Soften a Heart
by Swa-Sa Masou
Summary: After Blair and Louis' Wedding. Can Blair soften Louis' heart toward her?
1. Chapter 1

Blair and Louis stepped into the car after kissing in front of the cameras.

Louis looked over at Blair in the dim light of their car. Their wedding day had been anything but what he had hoped for. He woke up this morning feeling absolutely content with life and had only continued to become more overjoyed as the day progressed.

Right up until that awful moment when Blair had looked to the back of the church during their ceremony

* * *

He had put up with so much from her during their entire courtship and engagement, only for Blair to look to the back and seek out _his_ eyes. It seemed like she wanted _him_ to say that he objected to the wedding.

His heart sank, but they continued. No one spoke a word and the priest was ready to continue on to their vows.

Then everyone's phones rang.

His first thought, honestly, had been questioning who left their phone on during a wedding? His next thoughts turned darker as he realized he was being humiliated in front of all of his friends and family, every major press outlet in New York City, and leaders from all over the world.

His beloved, his Fiancée, the woman he was seconds away from marrying, was pledging her love to another man on the screens and speakers of over 300 phones in the pews around them.

He could barely remember what happened from that moment up until when his mother pulled him aside and gave him very explicit instructions. Save face. Get Blair to publicly apologize, Hide your anger. Marry her anyway. This would now become a marriage of business and necessity, like most others in his family had been. Love didn't need to be in this equation. The last instruction his dear mother gave was to wait, wait until the couple was 30,000 feet above ground before he dashed all of Blair's hopes of their future. He was to wait until after the reception. Act like there was absolutely nothing wrong while dancing, eating, shaking hands, and kissing their way through a sham reception.

He was a prince. He would do what was expected of him.

* * *

As the couple danced at their reception, Louis barely heard anything Blair said to him. She was thanking him, he knew that. She was likely trying to convince him that she really did love him. Lies. All of it lies. She loved Chuck Bass, not Louis. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

He spewed every bit of anger and hurt that he had kept inside of him since he heard her talking to Chuck earlier in the day. He let out his mother's plan. He wanted her to hurt, to feel the gut-wrenching pain, to feel as absolutely blind-sided as he had felt on what should have been the happiest day of his life.

She seemed ready to bolt. He reminded her to smile for the cameras. She was his for the next year, whether either of them wanted it or not. She would play the dutiful part until he and his mother decided differently.

* * *

Hours later, he had no idea where she was, his mother had no idea. Her friends seemed just as lost.

The solution concocted quickly was for him to put out a plea to the public, declaring his love and concern, and ask them to help track her down.

Right before going in front of the microphones, he turned to his mother, "Mother, is this really what we ought to be doing? Is it really worth it?"

She looked outraged. If the news crews had not been there, she may have hit him. "Have you already forgotten what she has done to you, my son? Have you already forgotten how easily she betrayed and embarrassed not only you, but the entire Grimaldi family?"

Louis took a step back and ran a hand over his face, collecting his thoughts."No, of course not. I just am not sure that this is the best way to get her to come back. I know her. She will come back soon. She may leave for a few days, but she will come back. We could wait." He moved back from the reporters and looked down. He knew there was no way his mother would go for that option.

He was right. Her expression turned furious. "And what, precisely, are we supposed to tell the press who are expecting you to leave on your honeymoon tonight? What are we supposed to tell anyone as to why you are still in this awful city? You will go in front of those cameras and you will find the words to say to bring your bride home."

With that, he moved forward, put on his best concerned expression, and made the announcement, imploring all of New York City to help him find the woman who he really, never wanted to see again.

* * *

Back in the limo, headed for the private jet, neither of them spoke. Neither of them knew what to say. This had never been an issue for them before. But they weren't the same couple tonight as they had been this morning. They certainly weren't the same couple tonight as _he_ had thought they had been this morning.

Blair was the one to break the silence. She was sitting as far away from him as possible in the car. "I never meant to hurt you."

That was all she said. He had no idea how to respond to that. Of course she hadn't meant to, but that didn't change the outcome. She had made a fool of him and his entire family. The entire royal bloodline of Monaco. He had so many questions to pose. His brain was running through dozens of things to ask her. Had she ever loved him? What was her plan? Had she only been interested in the crown? In the riches? The prestige? The title? What had their entire relationship meant to her? Only one question actually escaped his lips, however.

"Were you ever going to tell me the truth?' Louis attempted to look her in the eye, but it was difficult with only the passing street lights to illuminate the inside of the car, and that was through the tinted windows.

"What?" the singular word was barely audible over the hum of the car and the surrounding traffic. She obviously realized that he couldn't really hear her and she repeated herself. "What truth, Louis? I haven't been lying to you."

Louis let out a derisive snort at her words. Just how stupid did she think he was? "Sure, Blair, so you just decided today that you're still in love with him? Whatever is going to help you sleep at night for the next year." With that, he turned his body away from her and stared out the window for the rest of the drive to the airport.

* * *

They sat in silence the rest of the way to the plane, and then they sat in separate areas of the plane for the entire flight. Louis still placed a hand gently at the small of her back as they boarded. He still carried her carry-on bags, and he made sure she had what food she wanted for the flight. He told himself that it was just because he was raised to be a gentleman. He was raised to present all the niceties of a long-forgotten generation. If he were to truly listen to his heart, it was because he still cared, deeply, for Blair. She had shown him her true colors on their wedding day. Those feelings didn't just disappear at the first sign of betrayal.

Once settled into the honeymoon suite in Bali, they had no idea where to go from there. A honeymoon should have been, well, _fun_ , in a way that two people in their early 20s should have known well. They were barely speaking, let alone doing anything else.

How was he supposed to be constantly with this clever, gorgeous, loving, caring, smart, captivating woman for a year?

How was he supposed to constantly be around this conniving, scheming, lying, traitorous, back-stabbing woman for a year?

Now, nearly 24 hours after what he had said to her on the dance floor of their reception, he felt badly about how he had handled everything. Seeing Blair, the woman he fought against his family for, the woman who had carried his child, the woman who had ripped his heart out and stomped on it, he didn't know what to do. She was on the balcony, getting fresh air, and looking more dejected than Louis had ever seen anyone, except maybe, if he had looked in the mirror after the Gossip Girl Blast.

Screwing up every ounce of courage he had and ignoring every voice of reason shouting at him, he joined her on the balcony. A slight breeze ruffled the curtains and he drew close behind her, sliding his arms down hers and pulling her close to his body.

Blair let it happen for a fraction of a second and then spun out of his grasp, spun out of his reach entirely. "Don't." She was still looking at the street below, not meeting his eyes. "Don't do that. I know you feel nothing for me anymore and I deserve it. Don't pretend that emotions exist when they aren't there. Don't do that to either of us."

She shuddered as the next gust of wind blew her hair, her skirt, across her bare arms. He wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms. He wanted to pretend the moments between the start of their wedding and when they finally said their vows hadn't happened. He couldn't. His pride, he prestige, his position wouldn't allow it. He was the Crown Prince of Monaco and he could not suffer the indignity of what she had done.

Louis turned away from his wife and poured another scotch, sat down in front of the fire he had started, and stared into the flames.

It could have been hours or it could have been just seconds after he sat down that Blair came inside, poured herself a drink, and sat down on the sofa across from him. Louis was so lost in thought that he barely heard her approach, looking down, his drink was empty, though he had no memory of downing it. She looked so small, so sad sitting there.

Blair took a deep breath, one that seemed to draw from every part of her slight frame and finally spoke, "where do we go from here?"

He leaned back, pretended there were still drops in the bottom of his glass and tipped it all the way back, all to stall while searching for the words. "I already told you, we pretend for all the world that we are a happy couple, attend functions, have our picture taken, and then, after about a year, we divorce and never see each other again."

"You told me that already, and that's not what I mean. I mean day to day." Blair's voice was rising the way it usually did when she was aggravated or worried. "How do we live? Do we just exist in completely separate parts of the palace except for when the press is around? Are you going to be like this the entire year? Most couples that marry for convenience at least grow to like each other. You? You're being so cold." Her agitation dissipated and she slumped back into the cushions. "You clearly hate me too much to work on even a friendship."

"I don't hate you, Blair." He really hadn't meant for it to slip out. He was supposed to hate her. He really should hate her. In all actuality, he was just hurt. Every bit of anger he had shown toward Blair since their wedding was just masking how deeply he was cut by everything that had transpired.

"Hmmph, you could have fooled me. With what you said to me at the reception, forcing me to come back, blackmailing me into continuing a marriage that you yourself called a sham. Forgive me for not seeing the love radiating off of my husband on our wedding night." She crossed her arms and looked at him defiantly.

The look he shot back at her would have been enough to stop almost anyone mid-sentence. If looks could kill, this one shoved a dagger into her heart. "No, Blair, you don't get to be the injured party here. After everything that I've done, everything fight I've had with my mother over you, every time I've asked you about Chuck and you lied to my face, you don't get to be the one who is angry now."

Louis got up from his seat and looked down at his bride, "You do not get to be the one who is hurt. I've been trying to figure out what was wrong, what I had done wrong, how to make this wedding perfect for you, how to make _this night_ perfect for you. All the while, you've been deciding if you even wanted to marry me. Call me rude, call me selfish, call me an asshole, but tonight will not be about comforting you."

Tears were forming in Blair's eyes, and contrary to what he had just stated, he wanted to comfort her. "You're right." Blair stood and placed a hand gently on his chest. "You're absolutely right. I've been awful, but I do love you." Louis grabbed her wrist and moved her hand away, simultaneously taking a step back.

"Don't lie to me. You've never loved me, I've always just been a distraction from Chuck. You made it quite clear that you've never stopped loving him."

"You're right and you're wrong. I have never stopped loving Chuck, but I'm not going to be with him. Even if you hadn't married me today, I still wouldn't be with him. And I do love you. It is possible to love two men at once, in different ways and for different things." She looked up into his eyes one more time, let out a sigh, wiped at the tears she was trying to hold back and began to walk away. "I'm going to take a bath and then go to bed. I guess we'll try to figure out how we go about the next year of our lives in the morning."

Louis slumped back into his seat and watched her walk away.

* * *

He was still sitting there, swirling the contents of another drink around the glass when she walked out; hair glistening, cheeks rosy from the heat, wearing a robe that barely skimmed the top of her thighs… shit, they were done. This marriage was supposed to be for the press and to save face. But he was still a _man_ and she was still his wife, and she was still one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. Surely one night together couldn't harm anything…

"Louis?" He looked up to Blair's questioning face with a start. She straightened and crossed her arms. "You were staring." Had he been? She had been leaning over, looking through her suitcase for, he assumed, something to wear to bed. It was a good view. Louis stood up and quickly closed the distance between them. He was angry, he was hurt, he was insulted and humiliated, but he wanted her. Why shouldn't he take what was his? They were married, it's their wedding night. Why shouldn't they do this?

Their love-making had always been gentle. He had always been the perfect gentleman, so he surprised even himself as grasped the hair at the back of her head and crashed their lips together. He spun her around and pushed her back until she was up against the nearest wall. She initially responded and then pushed him back, with a hand hard on his chest.

"What are you doing? You said our marriage was for show! There's no one here watching how we spend our wedding night." She was breathing heavily, her pupils had grown so the brown of her eyes was almost completely swallowed, and the hand on his chest was shaking. He took all of these as positive signs.

Louis dipped his head and kissed along her jaw. "Are you saying you don't want this. I know you, I can see that you do." He continued down her jawline to the hollow beneath her ear as she struggled to find her next words.

Finally, she pushed him away from her body. "I don't make a habit of having sex with people I don't love, who don't love me." She started to move away from the wall, tried to walk past him toward the bag she left on the bed, but he caught her around the wrist and spun her toward him, not letting her pull away as she had done on the balcony.

"You said only minutes ago that you still love me. You know as well as I do that feelings don't evaporate." Why was he saying this? Of course feeling evaporate. They evaporate when you're at the alter and you hear your fiancé's voice professing love for another man. Still, his words seemed to be enough for Blair, as the next thing his mind registered was that she had her fingers threaded through his hair pulling him to her.

Her hands, her skin, her lips, doing everything she knew he liked. They knew each other, they were connected to each other, she had carried his baby for goodness' sake. She would be his this night and any night forth that he wanted her to be. This is his wife and he'd be damned if he was going to walk away from them. Anger still coursed through his veins at the mention of Chuck, he still didn't know if he could trust her or move past the betrayal, but she was _his_ and Louis, Crown Prince of Monaco, was a territorial man.

He moved them back, still kissing, until he felt her bump into the bed. He pulled at the belt holding her robe shut. "Mine." He moaned hungrily as his hand found bare skin.

They tumbled backward onto the bed.

* * *

The morning light was streaming in through the window as Louis woke up. He shut his eyes tightly against the bright light and felt blindly to his left, the open side of the bed where Blair had fallen asleep after their… third? He thought it was third, time last night. He felt nothing but empty space and a cold pillow, though, forcing him to open his eyes.

She was standing at the window, sheet from the bed wrapped around her and clutched tight at her breast. He couldn't see most of her face, but what he could see was beautiful, breath-taking, mesmerizing, and any other cliché for beyond pretty that existed. He cleared his throat, "Are you regretting last night? Louis sat up in the bed as she turned around.

"No, I'm not. I'm just thinking. Unless, if you're regretting it, I can put on my clothes and go to the other room of the suite." She looked around nervously, the floor, the ceiling, even the ridiculous painting of the variety that seemed to hang on all hotel walls; anywhere but at his face.

"Blair, come here, please." He held out a hand, hoping she would take it and allow him to pull her back to the bed.

His emotions were still in conflict with each other when she did. Having her body pressed against his in the light of day felt different than in the heat of passion the night before. "I don't know where to go from here, Blair. I don't know how to trust you. I don't- I don't know anything except that I still love you and I am, obviously, attracted to you." He coaxed her to rest her head on his chest and smoothed his fingers over her hair as he spoke.

In the most timid voice he had ever heard Blair use, she spoke, "So, you do still love me? That's not something you just said in the heat of the moment? I was afraid I had lost that forever."

Twisting slightly, he kissed the top of her head, "I'm not sure that's even possible, but I can't share you, Blair, I won't."

She sat up and placed a hand on his chest. "You aren't sharing me. I can be fully devoted to you, fully faithful, fully in love with you and still have feelings for someone else. It's not like your heart runs out of capacity to love." She ran a hand through her tresses and looked toward the ceiling, "Ask your sister if you think I'm making this up. At my bachelorette party, she got me drunk. Like, really drunk. She was trying to prove that I didn't love you so that she would be able to tell you and stop the wedding. She asked why I was marrying you if I don't love you. I told her that I do love you. I said that some people you love by not being with them- for me that's Chuck. Others you love by being with them and building a life together. That's what I want with you, if you'll still have me."

Louis sat up and knelt on the bed so their eyes were even and cupped her face in his hands. "I don't know how we do it, and I know we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I want a real marriage with you, like we always planned. I want to make this work if you promise me that you are mine and mine alone."

Gripping his wrists and running her thumbs along them, Blair responded, "I can promise you that. We'll work on it and grow together. We can do it." And she pulled him close for another kiss that tumbled them back onto the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Part two, this is just a two-shot. I won't continue after this chapter. I like Louis, it's nothing against Chuck, really, but in Blair's position, I would have chosen Louis.**_

After climbing out of bed, again, that morning, Blair grabbed a change of clothes and her phone and headed into the bathroom. She turned on the water of the shower and as she waited for it to warm up, she dialed her phone.

"Hello?" the voice sounded a little unsure, what time was it in New York, anyway?

"Humphrey. I just wanted to tell you, and believe me, I don't say this lightly, you're a genius." Sliding her unoccupied hand under the stream of water to test the temperature, Blair smiled. Their plan had worked perfectly.

"It worked? I mean, yeah, of course it did. You're a beautiful woman Blair, I'm sure you played the part well." Daniel Humphrey barely concealed his surprise through the phone that a scheme he and Blair had concocted when she realized that she would indeed be going with Louis. "He fell for it, then? He 'ran afoul of that which vexes all men'?"

Blair scoffed into the receiver, "Really, Humphrey? Isn't _Pirates of the Caribbean_ a little juvenile for you to be quoting? And don't say it like that. He didn't fall for anything; I was just able to use your plan to persuade him to see the truth."

She could hear Dan chuckling on the other end, "However you want to look at it, I'm glad it worked: show a little skin, dangle what he claims he doesn't want in front of him- it would work on nearly any man. Glad to know princes aren't any different than the rest of us."

The water had warmed appropriately by now, "Oh shut up, I'm hanging up now!" Blair barked into the phone. Softening her tone she added, "Hey, Humphrey?"

"Yeah, Blair?"

"Thank you." With that, she disconnected and cleared the call from her history before stepping into the shower.


End file.
